Abstract
Every year, hundreds of thousands of individuals with felony convictions are released into the community with the expectation that those reentering society will be "successful" upon reentry. Society tells persons with criminal backgrounds they have a "second chance" upon release, yet we are reluctant to provide the resources necessary to make this happen. Stigma is frequently identified as a potential obstacle to reentry (DeFina & Hannon, 2009; Shivy et al., 2007); however, research examining stigma surrounding conviction and obstacles to employment for felony convictions is lacking. Interviews with 14 men with felonies were examined to identify how the stigma associated with felony convictions has affected their perceived choice of employment options, including the potential barriers they experience to employment. Participants reported postconviction obstacles, specifically employment/job-related obstacles. They discussed experiencing stigma related to their felony convictions and described strategies employed to mitigate that stigma. Participants' work history involved largely manual labor work, and they discussed having work aspirations despite their felony convictions. Implications for counseling, future research, and limitations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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